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The legal fights between the Atlantic Coast Conference and high-profile member schools Clemson and Florida State appear close to resolution, which could provide the league with a measure of stability for the coming years.
The league and the two schools have reached a proposed settlement that would include changing the league’s revenue-distribution model, a person familiar with the situation said Monday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the schools have publicly addressed the deal, which requires all three to approve. ESPN first reported the details.
Trustees at Clemson and Florida State have each scheduled meetings for Tuesday. The FSU meeting specifically lists lawsuits involving the ACC on the agenda, while the Clemson meeting agenda refers to settling “athletic litigations.”
The ACC’s Board of Directors — made up of university presidents and chancellors — will also hold a call to sign off on the settlement Tuesday during a previously scheduled meeting, the person who spoke to AP said.
If approved, the settlement would incorporate viewership ratings into revenue distribution among member schools, which would increase payouts to schools generating the most TV interest. The upside could be
$15 million or more for top-earning schools, while it could also result in a decline of about
$7 million for others, the person told the AP.
The agreement would also provide clarity on the costs for a team to potentially exit before the expiration of a grant-of-rights deal — signed by all schools to give the ACC control of a school’s media rights — through the duration of the league’s TV deal with ESPN in 2036. Those costs had been a key subject of FSU’s December 2023 lawsuit, filed as it sought to explore potential membership in other leagues, and Clemson’s March 2024 lawsuit.
The ACC had conversely sued both schools.
